After months of animation, modelling, rigging, lighting, rendering and editing, Seriously? #3 is finally finished! It's a bit music video ee. I watched some Beyoncé and Madonna a long with some more recent offerings to get in the right groove.
Darling! You're finished?
This one introduces Divatron 9000 – a glamorous gold robot who promises to solve all of Stinky Von Tentacles' problems. As you might expect from the Seriously? universe... things don't exactly go to plan.
Accepting help from a mysterious robot diva comes with a few unexpected upgrades...
This may sting a little bit.
Set aboard a gleaming sci-fi laboratory filled with transforming machinery, malfunctioning chicken robots and more shiny metal than is probably safe, Seriously? #3 continues the story begun in the first two films with another dose of weird sci-fi comedy and slapstick chaos.
Like the previous films, everything was created by me, from the animation and character work to the environments, lighting and visual effects. It has been a huge project, but seeing these characters and this strange little universe continue to grow has made it worthwhile.
Shiny robot girlfriends are the best!
If you're new to the series, you can also catch up with the earlier films:
Seriously? – where poor Stinky first meets the hopelessly romantic Pootle McDerp.
Seriously? #2– where a hospital visit somehow turns into an even bigger disaster.
Thanks to everyone who has watched, commented, shared the trailers, or followed the project while it was in production. Every view genuinely helps independent animation reach a wider audience.
I'd love to know what you think.
And one question...
Which character deserves their own short next?
🤖 Divatron 9000 💚 Stinky Von Tentacles 🐔 Chicken Bot 🔴 Big Bong & Rinky Dink 👽 Pootle McDerp
This is another trailer for Seriously? #3, this time focusing on DivaTron doing what she does best — performing, posing, and possibly taking over.
There’s less story here and more attitude. It’s very much leaning into the music video side of things, which has been a lot of fun to play with while I’m finishing the film.
DivaTron is one of those characters that kind of designs herself as you go. Started as a simple idea, but the more I animated her the more she turned into this full-on diva presence — very controlled, very confident, and slightly… off.
“I’ll make it right for you.”
Still working through the final shots for Seriously? #3, but I’ve been cutting these trailers together alongside production. It’s been a good way to test different tones and see what stands out.
For anyone who saw the last trailer — this is a different angle on the same film. More performance, less setup.
If you missed the previous trailer, you can check it out here:
And if you’ve no idea what Seriously? is, you can watch the original short here:
Back on the giant alien spaceship, things have escalated.
What started as an awkward romantic misunderstanding has now become a full-blown security incident involving two robot guards, one dangerously persistent admirer, and an alien who really just wants to be left alone.
There is love in the air again…
…which is unfortunate, because there is also a lot of alien goo.
For this second short, I wanted to push things further. The first film was very simple and quick, but this time I introduced more characters, more moving parts, and a bit of full-on slapstick action.
The biggest addition was the two guards:
Big Bong – experienced, unflappable, not paid enough for this. Rinky Dink – not experienced, very flappable, definitely shouldn’t be holding a weapon.
They guard a very important door.
What’s behind the door?
Well… Stinky Von Tentacles, still recovering from the events of the first film and understandably not keen on any repeat performances.
Enter Pootle Mc Derp
Pootle returns, and he has learned absolutely nothing.
This time he arrives bearing gifts:
A large potted plant
An enormous heart-shaped box of chocolates
Which, in his mind, should smooth everything over.
It does not.
Building the action
Unlike the first short, this one needed proper choreography.
There’s a sequence where:
Pootle flips and bounces his way past the guards
Rinky Dink tries (and fails) to stop him
Big Bong attempts to maintain some level of professionalism
This was all animated very deliberately to feel fast, chaotic, and slightly out of control.
Rinky Dink in particular was a lot of fun to animate. He’s essentially a walking mistake.
The problem with adding more
More characters = more complexity.
Suddenly you’re dealing with:
Timing between multiple characters
Clear staging so the action reads
Making sure the joke actually lands
And most importantly:
Making sure the ending is worth it
The ending…
Without spoiling too much (although you probably know what’s coming if you’ve seen the first one),
Let’s just say:
Things escalate
Physics becomes a factor
And Stinky’s day gets significantly worse
Again.
Visual style
I kept the same sci-fi setting:
Large metallic environments
Big doors, heavy machinery
That slightly ominous “something’s not right” atmosphere
But contrasted it with very silly, exaggerated character animation.
That contrast is really what makes it work.
I also made a lot of trailers for this where I experimented with some different directions, my first real try at the youtube shorts format.
Final thoughts
Seriously? #2 is bigger, louder, and messier than the first.
It’s still short, still ridiculous, and still built around one very simple idea:
Some people just don’t take the hint.
Just when things couldn’t possibly get any worse…
They do.
Seriously? #3 is coming.
You haven't watched Seriously? #1 you can catch it here.
If you enjoy it, please share it around — it really helps.
Welcome to this tutorial on creating a female walk cycle in Maya! In this post, I’ll walk you through the process of building a smooth, natural-looking walk cycle, starting from scratch. Whether you’re a beginner or just brushing up on animation principles, this guide will cover the essentials of hand-keyed animation—the same techniques used in games, TV, and film.
If you prefer to see the process in action, check out my video tutorial [embedded above].
Step 1: Start with the Key Poses
The foundation of any walk cycle lies in the key poses. For a standard cycle, we focus on four main poses:
Passing Pose: One leg passes the other while the weight shifts.
Stride (or Contact) Pose: The legs are at their furthest apart, marking the extremes of the stride.
These poses are then mirrored for the opposite side, creating a symmetrical cycle. In the video, I show how to use the passing pose as the loop frame. This ensures your animation can repeat seamlessly.
Step 2: Blocking the Animation
At this stage, I work in stepped mode—a setting that eliminates interpolation between poses. This approach keeps the animation "snappy" and focused, allowing me to adjust the main poses without distraction from computer-generated in-betweens.
Once the key poses are in place, I mirror them manually. Some rigs have a "mirror pose" feature, but for this project, I handled it by hand. It’s worth noting that many free rigs available online include mirroring tools to save time.
Step 3: Refining the Motion
With the main poses set, it’s time to add tween frames, which double the number of key poses and smooth out the motion. This involves:
Using the graph editor to tweak translation and rotation curves.
Ensuring legs and feet land correctly, with natural arcs as they lift and plant.
Adjusting the hips for a fluid, balanced sway that complements a female walk.
For characters with exaggerated features (like larger hips), you can accentuate the sway for added personality.
Step 4: Adding Details
Once the foundation is strong, I layer in the smaller, more dynamic elements:
Arms and Hands: I used IK (inverse kinematics) for this rig, but FK (forward kinematics) is often simpler for walk cycles.
Hair and Accessories: Elements like hair bounce or accessories add realism and flair. For this walk, I manually animated these details for full control.
Character-Specific Motion: For instance, this character has secondary motion in the chest area, which I animated by hand instead of using physics simulations.
Step 5: The Final Polish
The last stage involves fine-tuning and ensuring the animation loops perfectly. For this, I used a translating floor plane to double-check foot placement and reduce any "sliding" issues. Small tweaks in the graph editor ensure that the movement feels fluid and polished.
Tips and Tricks for Animating Walk Cycles
Keep It Simple at First: Focus on the main poses and smooth motion before diving into secondary details.
Use References: Study real-life footage or reference videos to capture realistic motion.
Experiment with Tools: While Maya is my tool of choice, the principles apply across software like Blender, Max, or even traditional 2D animation.
Watch the Tutorial
Ready to see the entire process? Watch the embedded video below to follow along in real-time. This animation took several hours to complete, but in the video, I’ve condensed the steps into a 15-minute walkthrough.
Conclusion
Creating a walk cycle is one of the most fundamental skills for animators, and mastering it can open doors to all kinds of projects. I hope this guide (and the accompanying video) gives you the confidence to create your own. If you have any questions or want to share your work, drop a comment below—I’d love to see what you come up with!
